House fire near Hawthorne kills resident

UPDATED: One person was killed and a woman was injured Tuesday morning in a house fire near Hawthorne, firefighters said.

The blaze broke out about 6:15 a.m. in the 13400 block of Cerise Avenue, a street in the unincorporated county area, authorities said.

A Hawthorne police officer was first to arrive on scene, just before county firefighters.

"It was already fully engulfed," Hawthorne police Lt. Ti Goetz said. "He went to the front door and kicked the front door in, but smoke and flames were too heavy to make entry. The Fire Department was pulling up right behind him."

Firefighters pulled two residents from the house. The woman was taken to a hospital. Four dogs also died.

The names of the victims were not immediately available.

Neighbors said a family had once lived in the house, but it had been vacant for some time recently and boarded up. The new residents moved in within the past week. Neighbors said they saw a U-Haul truck outside in recent days.